Michael J. Rosen, CFRE

Michael J. Rosen, CFRE is President of ML Innovations, Inc., a fundraising and marketing consulting firm serving nonprofit organizations and the companies that assist them. An AFP Certified Master Trainer and Certified Fundraising Executive, Michael is the author of the bestselling book "Donor-Centered Planned Gift Marketing."

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Posts tagged ‘donor relations’

Have you ever stumbled upon a brilliant fundraising idea that inspired you to say, “I wish I’d thought of that!”?

Some of the greatest tactics and strategies we will implement during our careers are ideas that originated with others. Fundraising and nonprofit management ideas surround us. The challenge is not that there is a shortage of ideas; the challenge is knowing which ideas are truly great.

IWITOT is a unique seminar that will be moderated by Ken Burnett, Founder of SOFII, and involve 16 top-notch fundraising professionals who will each have up to seven-minutes to present his/her IWITOT brilliant idea. The fundraising ideas must be those the presenters admire or envy — an innovative replicable idea that we can all learn from. The proviso is that the idea cannot be their own or from their own organization, says Burnett.

The presenters include:

Adrian Sargeant, Plymouth University

Derrick Feldmann, Achieve

Tom Ahern, Ahern Communications

Amy Eisenstein, Tri-Point Fundraising

Simone Joyaux, Joyaux Associates

William Bartolini, Wexner Medical Center and Health Sciences Colleges

Valerie Pletcher, Brady Campaign & Center to Prevent Gun Violence

Daryl Upsall, Daryl Upsall Consulting International

Stephen Pidgeon, Stephen Pidgeon Ltd.

Amy Wolfe

Laura Fredricks, Laura Fredricks, LLC

Robbe Healey, Simpson Senior Services

Alice Ferris, GoalBusters, LLC

Frank Barry, Blackbaud, Inc.

Missy Ryan Penland, Clemson University

Tycely Williams, American Red Cross

“Each speaker will have a maximum of seven minutes each focused on a single big idea. This means that it’s a fast, colourful, entertaining, and inspirational session with much to learn for everyone and lots of fun, too,” says Burnett. “The speakers have been carefully chosen to give a balanced mix of seasoned professional leaders, sector gurus, and new, fresh ‘rising stars.’”

Here’s a limited preview of some of the ideas you’ll learn about during the IWITOT session:

In a preview of their session “Behavioural Economics: Everything You Know about Donor Decision Making is Wrong” at the AFP International Fundraising Conference (Baltimore, March 29-31, 2015), Ross told me the duo will show attendees how they can apply the work of Dr. Daniel Kahneman, author of the bestseller Thinking, Fast and Slow, to better understand their prospects and donors and, thereby, enhance their fundraising efforts.

Kahneman, a psychologist who won the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, says we have two complementary processes by which we make decisions in life, including fundraising decisions. He refers to these as System 1 and System 2. System 1 operates automatically and quickly, like an autopilot. System 2 allocates attention to effortful, conscious mental activities. We think System 2 is at work most of the time; however, Kahneman has found it is, in fact, System 1.

Ross asserts:

Hutson and I believe that Kahneman’s insights are the next big thing in fundraising.”

Ross observes that most fundraising professionals think donors are making rational judgments when they are not. Think of the old sales axiom: “People buy based on emotion then justify, after the fact, with logic.” A similar process is often involved with philanthropic decision-making.

Donors make philanthropic decisions based on six to eight key mental heuristics — or System 1 short cuts — that we all use. Ross says that fundraisers can learn these heuristics and use them to transform response rates, gift sizes, and more. In their session, Hutson and Ross will introduce participants to these key heuristics and show them how that knowledge is being used to remarkable effect by charities around the world.

If you’re like most fundraising professionals, you make three costly mistakes whenever you meet with prospects and donors.

That insight comes from Robert Fogal, PhD, ACFRE, CAP, Founder and Principal of Fogal Associates and creator of StyleWise™. Below, Fogal identifies those three common mistakes and shares his ideas for how you can avoid making them.

In addition, Fogal will share further advice in his seminar “Achieving Effective Interpersonal Relations: How to Lead Others by Managing Ourselves” at the AFP International Fundraising Conference (Baltimore, March 29-31, 2015). If you can’t make it to the AFP Conference, you can purchase a recording of the session following the Conference.

Fogal will also lead a Spring 2015 Program involving two six-hour workshops and five one-hour individual coaching sessions to help fundraising professionals benefit from the StyleWise™ system. The StyleWise™ Program balances conceptual learning with practical application so you can be “wise” about knowing and using your “style” of personality. Fogal designed the Program to help you more effectively motivate donors. You can learn more about The StyleWise™ Program by clicking here.

So, what’s the thinking behind this and what are the three mistakes you’re probably making now? Here’s what Fogal tells us:

The comment on the evaluation form for the AFP chapter presentation on person-centered communication went like this:

Maybe I’ve been in the industry longer than most (30 years), but I feel that a good development officer has already found this out by hard knocks or is very intuitive on their [sic] own.”

There’s a lot of truth in that statement. And that’s how our field operated for most of the 20th century. (One wag suggested that the reason why we ask for “X” years of experience in job postings is that we want candidates to have made most of their mistakes on someone else’s payroll.)

Most organizations, however, no longer allow employees to learn primarily through hard knocks. It takes too much time, and is too costly. Yet, we all know (supposedly) that effective relationships, which take time, lead to the gifts most meaningful to both the donor and the organization.

So, caught in a difficult situation, we too often commit cardinal errors in relationship building.

1. We don’t listen very carefully to prospects because we talk too much.

We’ve known for decades how easy it is to overwhelm someone in a conversation — especially when we’re nervous or stressed, or super enthusiastic. The old saw is true — the person who talks the least is the one who manages the conversation. But, more important than controlling the conversation is the reality that when we talk too much, we communicate that what the other person has to say isn’t important.

I am acquainted with some fundraisers who rightfully advocate how the case for support is central to successful fundraising. Their problem, however, is that they overwhelm prospects by reciting the case — the whole thing, sometimes — in their eagerness to interpret their causes.

This textbook is written specifically for fundraisers or financial advisors seeking to expand their knowledge about charitable gift planning. This introductory book addresses all of the major topics in planned giving law and taxation and features over 1,000 full-color illustrations and images that guide you through complex concepts in a visual and intuitive way. Distilled from his years of teaching Charitable Gift Planning at the undergraduate and graduate levels, James makes this topic accessible and enjoyable for the busy professional.

The paperback version of this book retails for $187.98. However, you can get the electronic version for FREE thanks to my friends at MarketSmart, just click here.

American Charitable Bequest Demographics

This book provides an extensive review of the changing nature of American charitable estate planning from 1992-2012 and includes over 50 charts and graphs. James presents information in a simple, visual fashion with each page containing a graph or chart, comments on the importance of the information, and details about the methodology behind the data. Much of the information presented comes from a long-running, nationally-representative, longitudinal survey including information about the final estate distributions from over 10,000 survey respondents who have died during the study.

• Major sections include:

• National demographic trends

• Trends in charitable plans among those aged 55+

• Examination of matured plans of deceased respondents

• Timing of charitable plan changes

• And much more!

The electronic version of this book retails for $9.99. However, thanks to James, you can get it for FREE when you subscribe to this blog site in the right-hand column. You’ll receive an email confirmation of your subscription that will contain a link to the book. (I recognize that your privacy is important, so I assure you that your email address will never be sold.)

Now that I’ve saved you a bundle of money, I’d like to suggest some books you can purchase that will inspire and help you achieve greater results. When you make your purchase, usually at a discount, at The Nonprofit Bookstore (powered by Amazon), a portion of every sale will be donated to charity.

Nonprofit organizations spend hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars to produce their Case for Support, the document that outlines the organization’s activities and explains the need for philanthropic support.

But, are those hours and dollars well spent? If your organization is typical, the answer is: probably not.

Ahern recently shared with me some of the tips he’ll be presenting in greater detail at the Conference.

Did you know that every Case for Support should answer three fundamental questions? Ahern identifies those questions:

1. Why us? You need to answer this question by explaining what your organization does that is so uniquely wonderful that the world should want more of it and support its new plans.

If you need help answering the question, just imagine that your organization, project, program, idea, mission or vision has gone away. What difference would that make?

2. Why now? You need to explain why your campaign needs to happen immediately, perhaps showing people what has changed or the reason for sudden urgency.

In other words, your answer to this question must demonstrate why your project(s) is relevant to the person whose support you seek.

3. Why should the prospective donor care? Donors have many options for directing their philanthropic support. Often, there are even many organizations focused on similar missions. You need to help prospective donors understand why they should care about your organization and your project(s).

The key to answering this question is thinking about the impact your organization will have once it’s project(s) is fully funded. Remember, your campaign is not just about funding your organization; it’s about what your organization will accomplish.

When working to develop a fabulous Case for Support, Ahern says we must remember:

In his upcoming session at the AFP International Conference, Sargeant will demonstrate how even small improvements in loyalty, in the here and now, translate to whopping improvements in the lifetime value of a fundraising database.

For example, he has found that a 10-percentage point improvement in retention can lead to a 200 percent improvement in the lifetime value of the fundraising database!

Sargeant will also look at what drives loyalty, drawing on lessons from both the commercial and the voluntary sectors, including work on the big three drivers of loyalty: satisfaction, commitment and trust. He will also explore new work on loyalty that looks at the role of donor identity and the extent to which donors identify themselves in part through their support of a nonprofit.

Sargeant will show how the concept of identity interacts with the other three big drivers of loyalty and which of all these factors offers the greatest potential to the sector to bolster giving and grow long-term support.

Every charity wants more money from donors. If only existing donors would write larger checks, become monthly supporters, make a major gift, and/or commit to a planned gift, there would be less pressure on the fundraising staff and the organization would be able to do more to fulfill its mission.

But, how can you raise more from your donors if they do not stick around?

Nationally, the median nonprofit organization finds that its donor retention rate is just 43 percent! Among first-time donors, the retention rate is an obscenely low 23 percent! (The stats come from the AFP Fundraising Effectiveness Project.)

The good news is that if you can increase your nonprofit organization’s donor retention rate by just ten percentage points, you could see an increase of up to 200 percent in donor lifetime value, according to researcher Dr. Adrian Sargeant. In other words, if you retain more donors, they will increase their giving and some will even encourage others to support your organization as well.

Unfortunately, increasing your donor retention rate won’t happen all by itself. You need to make it happen. So, what is the simplest, most effective tactic for accomplishing this?

Do you see that shiny box on your desk? It’s probably black with some flashing lights, and it’s plugged into the wall. It’s a telephone. Pick it up and call your donors to thank them for their support. While you’re at it, find out why they support your organization.

• 95 percent of study donors stated they would appreciate a thank-you call within a day or two of the organization receiving their donation.

• 85 percent said such a thank-you call would influence them to give again.

• 84 percent said they would definitely or probably give a larger gift.

Burk went on to report, when donors were tracked after 14 months, the group that received a thank-you call gave 42 percent more on average compared to similar donors who did not receive a thank-you call. During the renewal cycle, those who received a thank-you call were 39 percent more likely to renew their support.

Okay, I really don’t care. However, it got me thinking about the sustained success of mega-star Taylor Swift, one of the 2015 nominees. Leading into this Grammy season, Swift has already earned 7 Grammy Awards, 12 Billboard Music Awards, 11 Country Music Association Awards, and 7 Academy of Country Music Awards, among others. She has sold over 30 million albums and 80 million digital single downloads.

Taylor Swift

Despite the fact that Swift is a hugely successful music star, I’m not really a fan. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not that I dislike her music. It’s just that I’m not her target demographic. Nevertheless, I have enormous respect for her talent, work ethic, and philanthropic spirit.

A number of things have led to Swift’s success. We can model some of these behaviors to be even more effective fundraising professionals. Here are just five tips for you that are inspired by Taylor Swift:

1. Treat everyone well. Swift has a reputation for being nice. Unlike some stars, she doesn’t have to employ a public relations firm to try to convince the public she’s a good person. She genuinely is. The 25-year-old is a generous supporter of arts education, children’s literacy, the American Red Cross, and other charitable endeavors.

Swift is also a friendly neighbor. When neighbor and actress Hayden Panettiere needed to borrow a guitar, Swift loaned her one of her special instruments.

Swift is also good to service people, and does not take them for granted as so many other celebrities do. For example, during a tour stop in Philadelphia, she treated her entourage to a late-night, traditional southern Italian dinner at Ralph’s Restaurant. Swift tipped $500 on an $800 check, posed for photos with fans, and gave the chef a pair of tickets to the following night’s show so he could attend with his autistic 11-year-old son.

I’m sure Swift has her bad days. However, she seems to consistently strive to be kind to people, whether fellow celebrities or common folk.

As a development professional, you need to build solid relationships in order to achieve fundraising success. Being nice to everyone you encounter is a good place to start.

2. Develop your skills. Swift did not arrive on the planet a fully formed musician. She may have some natural talent. However, that natural talent would have gone to waste if it were not developed. From age 11, she took vocal and acting lessons. She seized performing opportunities at fairs, coffee houses, karaoke contests, and other less-than-glamorous venues to develop her skills.

As a development professional, you need to continue your education and look for opportunities to practice your skills. You should strive to become a stronger and stronger fundraiser. You’ll be of greater value to your organization, and you’ll enjoy greater career satisfaction. The upcoming AFP International Fundraising Conference is just one great educational opportunity.

[Publisher’s Note: From time-to-time, I will invite an outstanding, published book author to write a guest post. If you’d like to learn about how to be a guest blogger, click on the “Authors” tab above.]

However, do we really need a book about something as fundamental as donor retention? I believe we do. And so does Ken Burnett, Managing Trustee at SOFII and author of Relationship Fundraising. Here’s what Burnett says in the Foreword to Craver’s book:

Our nonprofit sector is bleeding to death. We’re hemorrhaging donors, losing support as fast as we find it, seemingly condemned forever to pay a fortune just to stand still.

It’s time we stemmed the flow.”

While the latest Fundraising Effectiveness Project report, developed by the Association of Fundraising Professionals and the Urban Institute, shows that the nonprofit sector’s donor retention rate has improved for the first time in years, the number is still wretched. The nonprofit sector’s donor retention rate now sits at a shameful 43 percent! For every 100 new and renewed donors, 102 donors are lost through attrition.

As a sector, we must stop this donor churn. It’s expensive. It prevents organizations from building long-term relationships that lead to large current donations and significant planned gifts.

Sadly, doing business as usual is not working. It’s time to change the way we do things.

Fortunately, the solution to the donor retention problem faced by the sector is not overly complicated or pricey. It simply requires a commitment to change. Once you’re committed to enhancing your organization’s donor retention rate, Craver’s mercifully brief and easy to read text will show you the way. Based on science and decades of practice, Craver’s book will explore what measurements are important to track, what tactics you need to adopt, and what messaging secrets you need to learn.

Noted philanthropy researcher and author Adrian Sargeant finds that “even small improvements in the level of attrition can generate significantly larger improvements in the lifetime value of the fundraising database. A 10 percent improvement in attrition can yield up to a 200 percent increase in projected value.”

By following the advice found in Craver’s book and its companion website, you will be able to improve your organization’s donor retention rate. With increased fundraising effectiveness, your organization will be far better positioned to fulfill its mission today and well into the future.

It happens every year at this time. People make New Year resolutions. Then, a short time later, they break those resolutions.

Breaking New Year resolutions is bad. Doing so can make you feel guilty. It can erode your self-esteem. If you told anyone about your resolutions, your failure to keep them could even be embarrassing.

Here’s a novel idea for 2015: Don’t make New Year resolutions you can’t keep.

Happy New Year from Philadelphia!

Instead of setting overly challenging goals, I encourage you to adopt the three following, easy-to-keep resolutions. While easy to adhere to, the following resolutions are nevertheless meaningful. You’ll notice that my three resolutions include something that will benefit you, something that will benefit others, and something that will benefit your organization:

Indulge yourself. Yes, you need to take care of yourself by eating right, exercising, and getting an annual medical physical. However, you also need to let yourself be bad occasionally. You need to take care of your psyche. If that means having a slice of chocolate cake, then go for it! If it means watching old television episodes of Gilligan’s Island, so be it. If it means having your spouse watch the kids so you can enjoy a leisurely bubble bath, make it happen. By being good to yourself, you’ll be better able to be good to other people.

Make sure those you love know you love and appreciate them. Don’t assume that those you love know it or know the extent to which you care about them. Tell them. Show them. Don’t just run for the door in the morning to rush off to work; instead, take the time to kiss your spouse good-bye. Don’t just nod when your child comes home with a good test score; instead, take the time to tell him how impressed you are. Make your partner a steaming cup of tea before she asks for it or goes to make it herself. In other words, make the most of the little moments.

Grow professionally. One of the hallmarks of being a professional is ongoing education and sharing knowledge. So, commit to attending seminars and conferences. If time or money are obstacles, participate in a webinar; there are some excellent free webinar programs available throughout the year. Or, read a nonprofit management or fundraising book. There are some terrific books at The Nonprofit Bookstore (powered by Amazon) that will inspire and help you achieve greater results. You’ll find Reader Recommended titles, the complete AFP-Wiley Development Series, and other worthwhile items. If you have found a particular book helpful, consider sharing a copy with a friend, colleague, or your favorite charity. By the way, a portion of the sale of books through The Nonprofit Bookstore will be donated to charity.

(If there’s a nonprofit management or fundraising book that you read recently that you found particularly helpful, please let me know below so I can include the title in the Readers Recommended section.)

For additional reading, you might also consider looking at some of my posts that you might have missed. Here is a list of my top ten most read posts during the past year:

I invite you to read any posts that might interest you by clicking on the title above. If you’ve read them all, thank you for being a committed reader.

I’m honored to know that I have readers from around the world. (I love the Internet!) While I appreciate all of my readers, I thought it would be interesting to look, beyond the United States, to see my top ten countries for readership: